ChinaThe country's earliest human sacrificial site has been found in Hunan Province. The 7,000-year-old cult site near Hongjiang City contained an altar with in situ human remains. A separate site for animal sacrifice, containing the remains of deer, tortoises, and pigs, was found nearby.

IndiaArchaeologists working near the city of Raipur announced the discovery of a 15-square-mile complex containing more than 200 Buddhist, Jain, and Shiva temples from the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. While the temple complex is the largest yet found from the period, archaeologists are most intrigued by the erotic animal portraits found carved in stone at the site, calling them "the rarest of carvings seen in archaeology."

IndiaArchaeologists trying to reconstruct the original water system around the Taj Mahal unexpectedly discovered a structure adjoining the famous seventeenth-century monument. Preliminary investigations suggest that the building, on the bank
of the Yamuna River, was a rest house for travelers.

SaipanHuman remains without arm and leg bones have been turning up during sewer-line excavations, and archaeologists suspect the absent limbs were fashioned into the lethal Chamorro spearheads so feared by Spanish colonists. More than 40 sets of remains, tentatively dated to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with missing longbones have been discovered since last year, leading researchers to believe they have located a Chamorro village.

GuatemalaClose on the discovery of the richly appointed tomb of a woman who ruled the Maya center of Waka' in the seventh or eighth century A.D., researchers have uncovered an unusual fourth-century burial containing the bodies of two sacrificed high-status women, one of whom was pregnant. Archaeologist David Friedel suspects they may have been sacrificed in a dedication ceremony or following a power struggle in an attempt to wipe out the previously ruling bloodline. This jade diadem fragment is one of the many impressive artifacts found in the royal tomb.

United KingdomFashion victims? Archaeologists are snickering at the recent find of a Roman razor handle in the shape of a man's leg clad in a thick sock and sandal. The copper handle was one of several objects found in the River Tees in northern England and demonstrates that the Romans held steadfastly to their beloved footwear despite the bitter weather of the empire's northern frontier.

United KingdomCesspits show that medieval Glaswegians ate more healthfully than their modern counterparts, and now local officials are hoping to use the archaeological evidence to help tackle the obesity epidemic among the city's chip-loving citizens. Large amounts of plant and fish remains and smaller quantities of animal bones have been found during excavations, and these finds will be highlighted on the city's new Medieval Trail, to run from Glasgow Cathedral to the River Clyde.